Barak: Israel will not release terrorists’ bodies

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Israel would not release the remains of 84 Palestinian terrorists to the Palestinian Authority, despite confirmation by the PA and the Israeli military.

A decision by Barak and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to consider transferring the bodies to the Palestinian Authority as a goodwill gesture to PA President Mahmoud Abbas reportedly was misinterpreted by the Palestinian Authority and the Israel Defense Forces as final approval of the deal, The Jerusalem Post reported.

The Israeli government reportedly compiled a list of terrorists whose bodies would be handed over to the PA that included terrorists responsible for the deaths of Israelis, such as Hanadi Jadarat, a woman who blew up herself and 21 others in a Haifa restaurant in 2003.

Barak said Tuesday that 10 terrorists formerly from Gaza would be removed from the list, since the bodies could be used in negotiations for the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit.

PA Civil Affairs Minister Hussein a-Sheikh told the Palestinian Ma’an News Agency on July 4 that Israel planned to transfer the bodies, and the IDF confirmed the news.

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